I
have had a very busy spring and look forward to some sunnier days in
Sacramento.We have had a very
rainy winter; and, although I know it is useful in the dry season,
we are all ready for some sunshine.

In
March I attended the Public Library Association (PLA) National
Conference in Boston.This conference is a
very focused opportunity for public librarians to meet colleagues
from around the nation and share best practices and common
challenges.It was great
to see many California
library staff in attendance.Although it is an expense for staff to attend, it is a great
investment in their training and future.Keep your calendars open for the PLA Spring Symposium March 1

-
3, 2007 in
San Jose
and the next national conference March 25
- 29, 2008 in Minneapolis,
Minnesota.

California State Library

In
April, I participated in the Better Together Conference at the
Cerritos Library.This
program, supported by LSTA funds, brought teams from nineteen public
libraries together to learn how to design engaging learning
experiences for their communities.Team members included representatives from libraries,
museums, historical societies, public television stations, municipal
cable channels and other community organizations; and exciting
speakers shared knowledge and experiences in building community
partnerships for lifelong learning.Check out more information on this great program at http://www.btconference.info/
.

In
early May, the California State Library hosted the spring meeting of
the Western Council of State Libraries at the Cerritos Library.The Western Council of State Libraries is comprised of all
the state libraries west of the
Mississippi River. The State Librarians wanted to see what was happening in California; and the Cerritos Library provides a laboratory that demonstrates a
variety of service designs in action.The highlight of the meeting was an intimate dinner and
discussion with famed author and library enthusiast Ray Bradbury and
Marty Sklar, a Disney “imagineer” and colleague of Walt Disney.

The
Public Library Directors’ Forum, held May 17 – 19 in San Diego, was a great learning experience for all participants.George Needham, OCLC, and Joan Frye Williams, library
consultant, provided great insights into the OCLC Perceptions report
and its implications for libraries.Librarians thoroughly enjoyed a presentation by Bill Barnes
and Gene Ambaum, creators of the “Unshelved” comic strip.Anne Marie Luthro, of Envirosell, demonstrated how the retail
experience could be applied to libraries.Participants had the opportunity to evaluate their favorite
retail environments as well as do some shopping!To find out more about the forum, please check out the
“PLDF Wiki” at http://wiki.infopeople.org
or checkout our photos
of the forum in this issue of CSL Connection.

I
hope that everyone has a great summer and gets time for some
relaxation!